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Custom Keyboard Shortcuts Are Coming To Android 16

All the latest Android & Tech news Android News Android Version Android Version 16 Add Comment 3 Min Read
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Custom Keyboard Shortcuts Are Coming To Android 16

Android has long supported keyboard shortcuts. These shortcuts, especially designed to make Android tablets with optional physical keyboards more productive, allow users to perform tasks like navigating to the home screen, opening recent apps, or taking screenshots. Now it looks like in Android 16, Google could finally allow custom keyboard shortcuts.

Customizable keyboard shortcuts

According to a recent Android Authority report, strings found within Android 16 Beta 1 hint at an upcoming new feature that allows users to customize Android’s keyboard shortcuts. At the moment, Google does not allow users to remap these shortcuts. If users want to customize keyboard shortcuts, they’ll have to rely on third-party apps.

Even then, these third-party apps are kind of limited in what they can do. For starters, they can only remap buttons detectable through the Android Accessibility API. These apps also require persistent background services. So, they it can stop working when your phone’s memory is low or when the screen is off. Fortunately, the latest report suggests that the situation could change with Android 16.

At the moment it is unclear how much customization Google will allow. Will Android 16 allow users to remap every single shortcut? Or will there be limitations on which shortcuts can be customized? That being said, given that we’re still months away from Android 16’s release, things could always change from now until then.

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Android 16’s release is going to be earlier than previous versions of the platform. Google wants to give its OEM partners more time to prepare the update, so you can expect it mid-year.

Android as a desktop OS replacement

Google’s decision to introduce custom keyboard shortcuts in Android 16 is interesting. We primarily rely on touch to interact with our Android smartphones and tablets. This means that keyboard shortcuts are a feature that some users aren’t even aware of. However, there are reports that Google plans to migrate Chrome OS over to Android.

Android will then serve as a unified OS that can be used for smartphones, tablets, and computers. This means that Google needs to start looking and treating Android like they would a desktop OS like Windows or macOS.

Since we use our computers differently from our phones, giving users more customization options isn’t a bad idea. Either way, we’ll have to wait and see how this feature works once Android 16 is properly released.

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